‘American Auto’ Recap: ‘Judgement Day’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

AMERICAN AUTO -- "Judgement Day" Episode 213 -- Pictured: (l-r) Jon Barinholtz as Wesley, Ana Gasteyer as Katherine Hastings, Usman Ally as Dan Abbas -- (Photo by: Ron Batzdorff/NBC)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the Season Two Finale of ‘American Auto’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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Sometimes in life, we are presented with quite the unique opportunity from a career standpoint. Wherein we can take on a job that is out of our normal wheelhouse. One that will be a great opportunity but could present us with a learning curve and great challenges. For we might not have the knowledge necessary to be successful at it, but so many of us take that opportunity, regardless. Because a challenge such as that is a chance to grow, a chance to perhaps succeed at something new, we just have to be prepared for the difficult road ahead. Because we might fail at this, and it will indeed be a lonesome and painful ride since we have nothing familiar to gauge our success. 
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But all it takes during that tough adjustment period is one win to prove that we made the right choice, and that we can in fact do the new thing, and after spending the past two seasons dealing with a learning curve and those struggles… Katherine Hastings finally enjoyed her moment in the sun in the season two finale of American Auto on NBC. But not before going through more hell. Because ‘Judgement Day’ is a story that saw Katherine scrambling to get the stock price up. For it was indeed the big day that the title inferred, wherein the board would decide her fate and the fate of her team and well… a last-minute attempt to drum up positive PR for the Pika to stimulate some sales… went poorly.

In part because a local TV appearance was a disaster, one where Cyrus made it weird, and where Wesley felt the need to inform the viewers at home of the technical term for male genitalia on live television. But more so, because… some inclement typhoon related weather shut down the port of Shanghai, which in turn freaked out the markets and sent Payne stock tumbling. Which put the team in panic mode, wherein they tried to drum up all kinds of positive press to get the stock price moving. Such as staging a fake photo shoot, one where it seemed as though Warren Buffet was investing in Payne Motors, when it was in fact… just the janitor. Plus, both Katherine and Wesley visited a red-hot local stock analyst, named John, in the hospital after his appendectomy, to try and get him to flip his negative view of the company to move that stock up.

Oddly enough, that visit from Wesley seemed to do the trick, only because he leaked that Katherine would be on the outs if the stock fell too low, and that prompted John to leak that news, sending the stock price to exactly where it was needed so everyone could keep their jobs. But that… wasn’t the win one might expect. Since it basically was a strong message that Katherine was terrible and the only way this company would find success would be without her. No instead, the moment that Katherine has been waiting for, the one that informed her she has been doing better than expected and has learned about this industry and grown into her role and created sustainable success for the company… came about at the very end of this finale. Wherein, quite the surprise came into play. 

In that, the grassroots measure to market the Pika, via social media and through a direct line purchase, was a success. In fact, hundreds of thousands of orders were placed and the internet was abuzz about the Pika and just like that… Katherine had the win she wanted. One that proved the challenge, and the strife was worth it and that she was the right CEO for Payne Motors and just like that… she reveled in vindication, and we even saw her strength renewed after a tough, up and down day and well… that’s a wondrous way to bring this chapter in the C-Suite’s story to an end, and the perfect way to set up the next one. Since now... Katherine will have the confidence to grow this business like never before and take it to new heights. Which is why this series needs a third season and beyond, quite frankly, so the characters can continue to grow, and we can go on that journey with them, whilst enjoying the quality laughs and whip smart satire that this magnificent series is known for. Until next time.     

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